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BANGKOK: Defiant Thai protesters scuffled with riot police Friday as tensions flared on day four of a massive demonstration at government offices aimed at forcing the prime minister to resign.
Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej has so far kept his promise not to use violence to end the siege at the Bangkok compound, which is the biggest challenge to his authority since he took power seven months ago.
Thousands of demonstrators have taken over the main government complex in the capital, accusing Samak of being a mere figurehead for ousted former premier Thaksin Shinawatra and insisting that he must step down.
Police armed with batons forced their way into the grounds of Government House on Friday morning, pushing protesters back with their shields while thousands more riot police stood guard nearby.
Legal executors tried to enter the compound to post a court injunction ordering the protesters to leave, but the demonstrators blocked them, forcing police to post the order on a lamppost close to the site.
"We have come here to get them to acknowledge the court order," said the deputy chief of the metropolitan police, Major General Akerach Meepreecha.
"We will wait, we will give them time," he said, adding: "If there is no reaction, the police will have to do something."
The prime minister, who has insisted he will not resign, said on Thursday that he had instructed police not to forcibly disperse the crowd.
"There will be no showdown," Samak said.
The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) has been demonstrating against Samak for months, but events took a new turn on Tuesday when protesters stormed a TV station and barricaded themselves inside Government House.
The courts have ordered the protesters to leave the site immediately and issued arrest warrants for nine of the ringleaders on charges including treason, but PAD leaders have appealed to the courts on both counts.
Suriyasai Katasila, a PAD spokesman, told the crowd late Thursday that it would appeal against the warrants because of the "over-the-top charges, especially the charge of treason."
His ally Sawit Kaoewan later announced the group would broaden its attack by holding national strikes across the railways and other state enterprises.
The PAD - which despite its name is trying to bring down Samak's elected government - began its campaign at the end of May, just over three months after the coalition government was formed.
PAD leaders say Samak is a figurehead running the country on behalf of former premier Thaksin, who was ousted in a 2006 coup, is barred from holding office and now lives in exile in Britain.
Protesters at the besieged government compound began to erect a second stage on Friday morning, in a further sign of their resolve to stay.
More than 13,000 people stayed for the third night of the protest, camped out with makeshift washing lines alongside barriers of tyres and barbed wire.
PAD protests helped lead to the coup that unseated Thaksin, and the entry into government of his ally Samak has infuriated the country's old power elites in the military and palace.
They also object to Samak's plans to amend a constitution drafted and approved under military rule following the coup.
A poll Wednesday showed the majority of Bangkok residents were fed up with the protesters claiming loyalty to the revered monarchy, while the local press has praised Samak's handling of the crisis.
- AFP/yb
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